ORIMA Research
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)

Evaluation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management and Voluntary Income Management Initiatives in Western Australia

Appendix D: Online Stakeholder Questionnaires
September 2010

Survey of Centrelink Customer Service Advisers and
Income Management Coordination Officers
Evaluation of CPSIM and VIM Trials in WA
FINAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Introduction
ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and Voluntary Income Management (VIM) trials in Western Australia.  The terms of reference of the evaluation are to assess:
•	The impact of income management on child wellbeing;
•	The impact of income management on the financial capability of individuals; and
•	The efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the trials.
As part of the evaluation, through this survey, we are seeking the views of Centrelink customer service advisers and income management coordination officers  who have been involved in the delivery of the VIM and CPSIM trials.  ORIMA Research is also collecting information for the evaluation through research with people who have participated in the VIM and CPSIM trials, a comparison group of Centrelink customers not on income management, welfare sector peak bodies and community organisations, service providers, and community leaders, and WA Department for Child Protection staff.
This is an important evaluation.  The findings of the evaluation will be used by FaHCSIA to inform the future implementation of income management in Western Australia and in other parts of Australia.
Your views are an important source of evidence for the evaluation.  The survey questions aim to obtain your individual perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the VIM and CPSIM trials.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trials.

This survey is being conducted on a confidential and anonymous basis.  Your responses will only be seen by a small number of ORIMA Research staff.  You will not be identified in our evaluation report.  The report will mainly focus on the analysis of key themes and aggregated/ grouped results.  De-identified indicative quotes from the responses of individual respondents will also be presented in the report.

The survey questionnaire contains separate sections on the CPSIM trial and on the VIM trial.  Many of the questions in these sections are the same (except that they focus on CPSIM and VIM respectively).  To reduce the time required to complete the questionnaire, you have the option of having your answers to the CPSIM questions being taken as also being the answers to the corresponding VIM questions.  If you wish to take up this option, please indicate this in response to Q.73 in the VIM section.  If you choose to take up the automatic completion option, you will still be able to provide a different response to any VIM question that you wish – where you provide a specific response to a VIM question, this will be taken to be your response (instead of your response to the corresponding CPSIM question).

The survey questionnaire should take around 30 minutes to complete.  The questionnaire does not have to be completed in one session.  You may save your responses to the online survey questionnaire at any time (click on the “Save” button on the bottom of the page that you are on), exit the online survey and return to complete the questionnaire at a later time (until the survey completion deadline).

Should you have any queries regarding the survey, please contact Janice Wong of ORIMA Research (Tel: 1800 65 45 85 or by email: janice.wong@orimaresearch.com). 

Completing the Questionnaire
[Appropriate completion instructions will be displayed on the survey web pages] 

About You

1.	What is the nature of your current position within Centrelink?	
	1  Team leader/ manager	2   Customer Service Adviser	3  Income Management Coordination Officer 	
	4  Other 
[Please specify     ]			

Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM)

This section seeks your individual view/ perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the CPSIM trial.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trial.

2.	Are you currently involved in the delivery of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) in Western Australia (e.g. dealing with CPSIM customers, providing information about CPSIM, liaising with the WA Department for Child Protection)?	
	1    Yes  [Please go to Q4]	2    No	

3.	Have you previously been involved in the delivery of CPSIM in Western Australia?	
	1    Yes	2    No                       [Please go to “Voluntary Income Management” Section]	

4.  Approximately how many CPSIM customers have you dealt with?

	1    None	[If you are a Customer Service Adviser, please go to “Voluntary Income Management” Section] 	
	2    1-5		
	3    6-10		
	4    11-20		
	5    More than 20		

5.	How long have you been involved in the delivery of CPSIM in Western Australia?	
	1  Less than 3 months	2   Between 3 and 5 months	3   Between 6 and 12 months	
	4  More than 12 months			

6.	In which locations have you worked in the delivery of CPSIM in Western Australia? [Please
select as many options as apply]	
	1  Perth	2   The Kimberley Region	3   Other 
[Please specify     ]	

Implementation of the CPSIM Trial in Western Australia

7.  How would you rate your own level of understanding of the CPSIM measure?

	1    Very low	[Please go to “Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in WA” Section]	
	2    Low	[Please go to “Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in WA” Section]	
	3    Moderate		
	4    High		
	5    Very high		

The following questions address aspects of the implementation of the CPSIM trial.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know” option in response to the relevant question.

8.  How would you rate the level of awareness of the CPSIM measure among Centrelink customers in the areas where CPSIM has been trialled who receive payments that make them potentially eligible for CPSIM?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

9.  Overall, how would you rate the level of understanding of the CPSIM measure among CPSIM customers?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

10.  Overall, to what extent have CPSIM customers been informed about the purpose and nature (key features, benefits, rights and responsibilities) of CPSIM by the WA Department for Child Protection prior to being referred to Centrelink?

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

11.  Overall, to what extent have CPSIM customers been informed about the purpose and nature (key features, benefits, rights and responsibilities) of CPSIM by Centrelink?

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

12.  How could the process of informing customers about CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

13.  Are there any specific aspects of CPSIM that need to be better understood by customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q16]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q16]	

14.  What aspects of CPSIM need to be better understood by customers?

	

	

	

15.  What is the best way of informing customers about these aspects?

	

	

	

16.  Have you had any dealings with WA Department for Child Protection in the delivery of the CPSIM trial?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q21]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q21]	

17.  Overall, how would you assess the quality of the working relationship between Centrelink and the Western Australian Department for Child Protection in the implementation and delivery of the CPSIM trial in relation to:
		Very Poor	Poor	Moderate	Good	Very Good	Don’t Know	
a.	Clarity of roles and responsibilities?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Effectiveness of communication?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Willingness to work together?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Effectiveness of the Income Management Contact Officer role?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Timeliness of referrals of people to CPSIM?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Efficiency of referral processes?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

18.  If you provided negative ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in Question 17, please explain why.

	

	

	

19.  If you provided positive ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in Question 17, please explain why.

	

	

	

20.  How could the quality of the working relationship between Centrelink and the WA Department for Child Protection in relation to CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

21.  In general, do you feel that the right people (i.e. people for whom the program is appropriate) have been referred to CPSIM?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q23]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q23]	

22.  Please explain the reasons for your answer to Question 21.

	

	

	

23.  In general, how have CPSIM customers responded to being referred to the scheme?

	1    Very negatively		
	2    Negatively		
	3    Neutral response		
	4    Positively		
	5    Very positively		
	6    Don’t know	[Please go to Q25]	

24.  Why do you think that customers have responded in this way?

	

	

	

25.  Have you tried to use any of the following approaches to improve customer acceptance of CPSIM?
		Yes	No	
a.	Comprehensive discussion of the program (features, benefits etc.) when a customer commences on the scheme?	1	2	
b.	Ongoing case review of the impact of CPSIM on the customer?	1	2	
c.	Adjustments to the ratio of income managed funds to better meet the customer’s circumstances?	1	2	
d.	Offer of access to additional support services beyond financial counselling and money management?	1	2	
e.	Other [Please specify     ]?	1	2	
f.	Other [Please specify     ]?	1	2	

26.  To what extent have the approaches that you have used improved customer acceptance of CPSIM:
		Not At All	A Little	Moderately	Greatly	Have Not Used this Approach	
a.	Comprehensive discussion of the program (features, benefits etc.) when a customer commences on the scheme?	1	2	3	4	5	
b.	Ongoing case review of the impact of CPSIM on the customer?	1	2	3	4	5	
c.	Adjustments to the ratio of income managed funds to better meet the customer’s circumstances?	1	2	3	4	5	
d.	Offer of access to additional support services beyond financial counselling and money management?	1	2	3	4	5	
e.	Approach specified in Q25e?	1	2	3	4	5	
f.	Approach specified in Q25f?	1	2	3	4	5	

27.  Overall, please rate the effectiveness of the BasicsCard in the delivery of CPSIM?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

28.  What have been the main benefits of the BasicsCard?

	

	

	

29.  What have been the main problems with the BasicsCard?

	

	

	

Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff involved in the delivery of CPSIM may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM customers to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case for you, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

30.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

31.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q33]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q33]	

32.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify.....................................................................]	

33.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q35]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q35]	

34.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Impact of CPSIM on Financial Management Capability

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on the financial management capability of CPSIM customers.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff involved in the delivery of CPSIM may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM customers to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

35.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among CPSIM customers?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

36.  On the basis of your experience, has CPSIM had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q38]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q38]	

37.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of customers? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5  Other [Please specify.....................................................................]	

38.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q40]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q40]	

39.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of customers?

	

	

	

40.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial led to an increase or decrease in the incidence of people who have participated in the trial seeking emergency relief, emergency payments or other financial crisis support?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

41.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent have the following elements of the WA CPSIM trial contributed to improving financial management among people who have participated in the trial:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Compulsory income management of fortnightly payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Compulsory income management of lump sum payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Financial counselling and money management services?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

42.  If you provided negative ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in Question 41, please explain why.

	

	

	

43.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM customers have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence		

44.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to CPSIM customers who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful	[Please go to Q46]	
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q46]	

45.  What have been the benefits of financial counselling and money management services to CPSIM customers who have used these services?

	

	

46. What factors have discouraged or prevented CPSIM customers from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

47. What is likely to encourage CPSIM customers to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

	

Other Impacts of CPSIM

The following questions address other impacts of CPSIM.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff involved in the delivery of CPSIM may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM customers or the communities in which they live to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

48.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the Kimberley region communities in which CPSIM customers live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Excessive drinking?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Excessive noise?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Problem gambling?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Drug misuse?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Violence?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Use of pornography?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

49.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the communities in which some CPSIM customers live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Cultural activities (e.g. hunting, fishing, sport)?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Inappropriate pressure being applied to family members to obtain money?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

50.  If you indicated that there has been a change in the incidence/ frequency of at least one of the behaviours covered in question 48 and question 49, what impact have these changes had on child wellbeing in these communities? [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

51.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on family relationships/ dynamics of people who have participated in the trial?

	1    Highly negative		
	2    Negative		
	3    Neutral/ No impact	[Please go to Q53]	
	4    Positive		
	5    Highly positive		
	6   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q53]	

52.  Please explain the impact of CPSIM on family relationships/dynamics. [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

53.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q55]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q55]	

54.  What other impacts has CPSIM had?

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of CPSIM

55.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

56.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

57.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

58.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in Western Australia

59.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

60.  Has the effectiveness of the CPSIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which CPSIM is available)?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q62]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q62]	

61.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of CPSIM?

	

	

	

62.  How could CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

Voluntary Income Management (VIM)

This section seeks your individual view/ perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the VIM trial.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trial.

63.	Are you currently involved in the delivery of Voluntary Income Management (VIM) in Western Australia (e.g. dealing with VIM customers, providing information about VIM)?	
	1    Yes  [Please go to Q65]	2    No	

64.	Have you previously been involved in the delivery of VIM in Western Australia?	
	1    Yes	2    No [Please go to Conclusion]	

65.  Approximately how many VIM customers have you dealt with?

	1    None	[If you are a Customer Service Adviser, please go to “Conclusion” Section]	
	2    1-5		
	3    6-10		
	4    11-20		
	5    More than 20		

66.	How long have you been involved in the delivery of VIM in Western Australia?	
	1  Less than 3 months	2   Between 3 and 5 months	3   Between 6 and 12 months	
	4  More than 12 months			

67.	In which locations have you worked in the delivery of VIM in Western Australia? [Please
select as many options as apply]	
	1  Perth	2   The Kimberley Region	3   Other 
[Please specify....................]	

The remainder of this section contains a set of questions concerning the WA VIM trial that largely mirrors the set of questions contained in the previous section of the questionnaire relating to the CPSIM trial.  
•	If you select ‘Yes’ to Question 68 below, your answers to the CPSIM questions will be taken to apply to the equivalent VIM questions, except in cases where you provide specific answers to the VIM questions.  
•	Please note that there are also some unique VIM questions that have not been asked in relation to CPSIM – these are highlighted by the inclusion of the text [VIM ONLY] after each question.  Please answer these unique VIM questions.

		Yes	No	
68.	Would you like your answers to the CPSIM questions to be copied across to the equivalent VIM questions (you will be able to modify them where necessary), with the exception of cases where you provide a specific response to a VIM question?	1	2	

Implementation of the VIM Trial in Western Australia

69.  How would you rate your own level of understanding of the VIM measure?

	1    Very low	[Please go to “Overall Assessment of the VIM Trial in WA” Section]	
	2    Low	[Please go to “Overall Assessment of the VIM Trial in WA” Section]	
	3    Moderate		
	4    High		
	5    Very high		

The following questions address aspects of the implementation of the VIM trial.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know” option in response to the relevant question.

70.  How would you rate the level of awareness of the VIM measure among Centrelink customers in the areas where VIM has been trialled who receive payments that make them potentially eligible for VIM?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	
71.  Overall, how well has the availability of VIM been communicated to potential customers in the trial areas?  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

72.  What communication strategies aimed at potential VIM customers have worked well?  Why?  [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

73.  What communication strategies aimed at potential VIM customers have worked poorly?  Why? [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

74.  How could awareness-raising communication aimed at potential VIM customers be improved? [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

75.  Overall, how would you rate the level of understanding of the VIM measure among VIM customers?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

76.  Overall, to what extent have VIM customers been informed about the purpose and nature (key features, benefits, rights and responsibilities) of VIM by Centrelink?

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

77.  How could the process of informing customers about VIM be improved?

	

	

	

78.  Are there any specific aspects of VIM that need to be better understood by customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q81]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q81]	

79.  What aspects of VIM need to be better understood by customers?

	

	

	

80.  What is the best way of informing customers about these aspects?

	

	

	

81.  In general, do you feel that the right people (i.e. people for whom the program is appropriate) have taken up VIM?  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q83]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q83]	

82.  Please explain the reasons for your answer to Question 81.  [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

83.  In general, how have VIM customers responded to the scheme in the initial stages?  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Very negatively	
	2    Negatively	
	3    Neutral response	
	4    Positively	
	5    Very positively	

84.  Why do you think that customers have responded in this way?  [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

85.  Have you tried to use any of the following approaches to improve customer acceptance of VIM?
		Yes	No	
a.	Comprehensive discussion of the program (features, benefits etc.) when a customer commences on the scheme?	1	2	
b.	Ongoing case review of the impact of VIM on the customer?	1	2	
c.	Adjustments to the ratio of income managed funds to better meet the customer’s circumstances?	1	2	
d.	Offer of access to additional support services beyond financial counselling and money management?	1	2	
e.	Other [Please specify     ]?	1	2	
f.	Other [Please specify     ]?	1	2	

86.  To what extent have the approaches that you have used improved customer acceptance of VIM:
		Not At All	A Little	Moderately	Greatly	Have Not Used this Approach	
a.	Comprehensive discussion of the program (features, benefits etc.) when a customer commences on the scheme?	1	2	3	4	5	
b.	Ongoing case review of the impact of VIM on the customer?	1	2	3	4	5	
c.	Adjustments to the ratio of income managed funds to better meet the customer’s circumstances?	1	2	3	4	5	
d.	Offer of access to additional support services beyond financial counselling and money management?	1	2	3	4	5	
e.	Approach specified in Q85e?	1	2	3	4	5	
f.	Approach specified in Q85f?	1	2	3	4	5	

87.  What factors motivate people to take up VIM? [Please select as many options as apply]  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Interest in improving money management	
	2    Positive community sentiment/ word-of-mouth reports	
	3    Information delivered by Centrelink	
	4    Desire to obtain a BasicsCard	
	5    Desire to avoid inappropriate pressure from family members to obtain money	
	6     Other [Please specify     ]	

88.  What factors discourage/ prevent people from taking up VIM? [Please select as many options as apply]  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Lack of awareness about the program	
	2    Negative community sentiment/ word-of-mouth reports	
	3    Negative media reports	
	4    Unwillingness to take up the program prior to receiving lump sum payments	
	5     Other [Please specify     ]	

89.  What are the main factors that lead to people withdrawing from VIM? [Please select as many options as apply]  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Preference for using cash to meet living expenses	
	2    Need to access funds when travelling	
	3    Greater than expected initial impact of the reduction in discretionary funds	
	4    Pressure from family members
5.   Lack of access to lump sum payments
6.   Other [Please specify............]	

90.  Overall, please rate the effectiveness of the BasicsCard in the delivery of VIM?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

91.  What have been the main benefits of the BasicsCard?

	

	

	

92.  What have been the main problems with the BasicsCard?

	

	

	

Impact of VIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of VIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff involved in the delivery of VIM may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with VIM customers to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case for you, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

93.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA VIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

94.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of VIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q96]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q96]	

95.  What positive impacts has VIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify     ]	

96.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe VIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of VIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q98]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q98]	

97.  What negative impacts has VIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Impact of VIM on Financial Management Capability

The following questions address the impact of VIM on the financial management capability of VIM customers.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff involved in the delivery of CPSIM may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with VIM customers to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

98.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA VIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among VIM customers?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

99.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe VIM has had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of VIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q101]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q101]	

100.  What positive impacts has VIM had on the financial management capability of customers? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5  Other [Please specify     ]	

101.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of VIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q103]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q103]	

102.  What negative impacts has VIM had on the financial management capability of customers?

	

	

103.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent has the WA VIM trial led to an increase or decrease in the incidence of people who have participated in the trial seeking emergency relief, emergency payments or other financial crisis support?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

104.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent have the following elements of the WA VIM trial contributed to improving financial management among people who have participated in the trial:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Income management of fortnightly payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Income management of lump sum payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Financial counselling and money management services?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

105.  If you provided negative ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in Question 104, please explain why.

	

	

	

106.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM customers have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence		
107.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to VIM customers who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful	[Please go to Q109]	
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q109]	

108.  What have been the benefits of financial counselling and money management services to VIM customers who have used these services?

	

	

109. What factors have discouraged or prevented VIM customers from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

110. What is likely to encourage VIM customers to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

	

Other Impacts of VIM

The following questions address other impacts of VIM.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some Centrelink staff involved in the delivery of VIM may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with VIM customers or the communities in which they live to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case for you, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

111.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the Kimberley region communities in which VIM customers live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Excessive drinking?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Excessive noise?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Problem gambling?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Drug misuse?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Violence?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Use of pornography?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

112.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the communities in which some VIM customers live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Cultural activities (e.g. hunting, fishing, sport)?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Inappropriate pressure being applied to family members to obtain money?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

113.  If you indicated that there has been a change in the incidence/ frequency of at least one of the behaviours covered in question 111 and question 112, what impact have these changes had on child wellbeing in these communities? [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible] 

	

	

	

114.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on family relationships/ dynamics of people who have participated in the trial?

	1    Highly negative		
	2    Negative		
	3    Neutral/ No impact	[Please go to Q116]	
	4    Positive		
	5    Highly positive		
	6   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q116]	

115.  Please explain the impact of VIM on family relationships/ dynamics. [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

116.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q118]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q118]	

117.  What other impacts has VIM had?

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of VIM

118.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of VIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

119.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

120.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of VIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

121.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the VIM Trial in Western Australia

122.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

123.  Has the effectiveness of the VIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which VIM is available)?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q125]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q125]	

124.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of VIM?

	

	

	

125.  Has the effectiveness of the VIM trial in WA been affected by the recent reduction of the managed percentage of income from 70% to 50%?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q127]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q127]	

126.  Please briefly explain the impact of this change on the effectiveness of VIM.

	

	

	

127.  How could VIM be improved?

	

	

	

Conclusion

128.  If you have any other comments about the CPSIM and VIM trials in Western Australia, or about the evaluation, please provide them below.

	

	

	

	

	

To assist in the interpretation of the survey results, ORIMA Research may need to contact you to clarify or obtain additional information relating to your response to this questionnaire.

If you would be prepared to participate in such a follow-up discussion, please provide your contact details below:

Name:

Telephone Number: 

ORIMA Research
Survey of DCP Staff
Evaluation of CPSIM Trial in WA

Introduction
ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and Voluntary Income Management (VIM) trials in Western Australia.  The terms of reference of the evaluation are to assess:
•	The impact of income management on child wellbeing;
•	The impact of income management on the financial capability of individuals; and
•	The efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the trials.
As part of the evaluation, through this survey, we are seeking the views of WA Department for Child Protection (DCP) field workers and team leaders who have been involved in the delivery of the CPSIM trial.  ORIMA Research is also collecting information for the evaluation through research with people who have participated in the VIM and CPSIM trials, a comparison group of Centrelink customers not on income management, welfare sector peak bodies and community organisations, service providers, community leaders, and Centrelink staff.
This is an important evaluation.  The findings of the evaluation will be used by FaHCSIA to inform the future implementation of income management in Western Australia and in other parts of Australia.
Your views are an important source of evidence for the evaluation.  The survey questions aim to obtain your individual perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the CPSIM trial.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outputs, outcomes or impacts of the trial.

This survey is being conducted on a confidential and anonymous basis.  Your responses will only be seen by a small number of ORIMA Research staff.  You will not be identified in our evaluation report.  The report will mainly focus on the analysis of key themes and aggregated/ grouped results.  De-identified indicative quotes from the responses of individual respondents will also be presented in the report.

The survey questionnaire should take no more than 30 minutes to complete.  The questionnaire does not have to be completed in one session.  You may save your responses to the online survey questionnaire at any time (click on the “Save” button on the bottom of the page that you are on), exit the online survey and return to complete the questionnaire at a later time (until the survey completion deadline).

Should you have any queries regarding the survey, please contact Janice Wong of ORIMA Research (Tel: 1800 65 45 85 or by email: janice.wong@orima.com). 

About You

1.	What is the nature of your current position within DCP?	
	1  Team leader/ manager	2   Field worker	3   Other 
[Please specify     ]	

2.	Have you ever referred any DCP clients to the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) in Western Australia?	
	1    Yes	2    No [Please go to Q4]	

3.	Approximately how many clients have you referred to CPSIM?	
	a.	Reunification cases:      [Please specify the number of clients]
b.	Open cases:     [Please specify the number of clients]	

4.	In which locations have you worked for DCP in Western Australia since November 2008? [Please
select as many options as apply]	
	1   Armadale 	2   Cannington	3   Fremantle	
	4   Joondalup	5   Kimberley	6   Midland	
	7   Mirrabooka	8   Perth	9   Rockingham	
	10   Other [Please specify     ]			

Implementation of the CPSIM Trial in WA

5.  How would you rate your own level of understanding of the CPSIM measure?

	1    Very low	[Please go to “Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in WA” Section]	
	2    Low	[Please go to “Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in WA” Section]	
	3    Moderate		
	4    High		
	5    Very high		

The following questions address aspects of the implementation of the CPSIM trial.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some DCP staff may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case for you, please select the ‘Don’t Know’ option in response to the relevant question.

6.  Overall, how would you rate the level of understanding of the CPSIM measure among CPSIM customers (i.e. people who have been referred to CPSIM)?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

7.  Overall, to what extent have CPSIM customers been informed about the purpose and nature (key features, benefits, rights and responsibilities) of CPSIM by the WA Department for Child Protection prior to being referred to Centrelink?

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

8.  Overall, to what extent have CPSIM customers been informed about the purpose and nature (key features, benefits, rights and responsibilities) of CPSIM by Centrelink?

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

9.  How could the process of informing customers about CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

10.  Are there any specific aspects of CPSIM that need to be better understood by customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q12]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q12]	

11.  What aspects of CPSIM need to be better understood by customers?

	

	

	

12.  Have you had any dealings with Centrelink in the delivery of the CPSIM trial?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q17]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to Q17]	

13.  Overall, how would you assess the quality of the working relationship between Centrelink and the WA Department for Child Protection in the implementation and delivery of the CPSIM trial in relation to:
		Very Poor	Poor	Moderate	Good	Very Good	Don’t Know	
a.	Clarity of roles and responsibilities?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Effectiveness of communication?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Willingness to work together?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Effectiveness of the Income Management Contact Officer role?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Timeliness of referrals of people to CPSIM?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Efficiency of referral processes?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

14.  If you provided negative ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in question 13, please explain why.

	

	

	

15.  If you provided positive ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in question 13, please explain why.

	

	

	

16.  How could the quality of the working relationship between Centrelink and the WA Department for Child Protection in relation to CPSIM be improved?

	

	

[If Q1=2 (i.e. respondent is a field worker) and Q2=2 (i.e. respondent has made no referrals to CPSIM) go to “Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in WA” Section]

17.  In general, how have CPSIM customers responded to being referred to the scheme?

	1    Very negatively		
	2    Negatively		
	3    Neutral response		
	4    Positively		
	5    Very positively		
	6    Don’t know	[Please go to next section – “Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing”]	

18.  Why do you think that customers have responded in this way?

	

	

	
Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some DCP staff may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM customers to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case for you, please select the ‘Don’t Know’/ ‘Not Enough Evidence’ option in response to the relevant question.

19.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

20.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q22]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q22]	

21.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify     ]	

22.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q24]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q24]	

23.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Impact of CPSIM on Financial Management Capability

24.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among CPSIM customers?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	

25.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q27]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q27]	

26.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of customers? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5   Other [Please specify     ]	

27.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM customers?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q29]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q29]	

28.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of customers?

	

	

29.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM customers have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence		

30.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to CPSIM customers who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful	[Please go to Q32]	
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q32]	

31.  What have been the benefits of financial counselling and money management services to CPSIM customers who have used these services?

	

	

	

32. What factors have discouraged or prevented CPSIM customers from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

	

33. What is likely to encourage CPSIM customers to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

Other Impacts of CPSIM

The following questions address other impacts of CPSIM.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some DCP staff may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM customers or the communities in which they live to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case for you, please select the ‘Don’t Know’/ ‘Not Enough Evidence’ option in response to the relevant question.

Please answer Q34 below only if you have worked in the delivery of CPSIM in the Kimberley region.  If you have not worked in the delivery of CPSIM in the Kimberley region, please go to Q35.

34.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the incidence/ frequency of the following behaviours in the Kimberley region communities in which CPSIM customers live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Excessive drinking?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Excessive noise?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Problem gambling?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Drug misuse?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Violence?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Use of pornography?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

35.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the incidence/ frequency of the following behaviours in the communities in which some CPSIM customers live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Cultural activities (e.g. hunting, fishing, sport)?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Inappropriate pressure being applied to family members to obtain money?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

36. If you indicated that there has been a change in the incidence/ frequency of at least one of the behaviours covered in question 34 and question 35, what impact have these changes had on child wellbeing in these communities? [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

37.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on family relationships/ dynamics of people who have participated in the trial?

	1    Highly negative		
	2    Negative		
	3    Neutral/ No impact	[Please go to Q39]	
	4    Positive		
	5    Highly positive		
	6   Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q39]	

38.  Please explain the impact of CPSIM on family relationships/ dynamics. [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

39.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q41]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q41]	

40.  What other impacts has CPSIM had?

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of CPSIM

41.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

42.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

43.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

44.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in WA

45.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

46.  Has the effectiveness of the CPSIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which CPSIM is available)?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to Q48]	
	3    Don’t know/ Not enough evidence	[Please go to Q48]	

47.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of CPSIM?

	

	

	

48.  How could CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

Conclusion

49.  If you have any other comments about the CPSIM trial in Western Australia, or about the evaluation, please provide them below.

	

	

	

	

	

To assist in the interpretation of the survey results, ORIMA Research may wish to contact you to clarify or obtain additional information relating to your response to this questionnaire.

If you would be prepared to participate in such a follow-up discussion, please provide your contact details below:

Name:
Telephone Number: 

ORIMA Research
Survey of Financial Counsellors and Money Management Advisers
Evaluation of CPSIM and VIM Trials in WA

Introduction
ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and Voluntary Income Management (VIM) trials in Western Australia.  The terms of reference of the evaluation are to assess:
•	The impact of income management on child wellbeing;
•	The impact of income management on the financial capability of individuals; and
•	The efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the trials.
As part of the evaluation, through this survey, we are seeking the views of financial counsellors and money management advisers who have been involved in the delivery of services to people who have been income managed under the CPSIM or VIM schemes.  ORIMA Research is also collecting information for the evaluation through research with people who have participated in the VIM and CPSIM trials, a comparison group of Centrelink customers not on income management, welfare sector peak bodies and community organisations, community leaders, Centrelink staff, and staff of the Western Australian Department for Child Protection.
This is an important evaluation.  The findings of the evaluation will be used by FaHCSIA to inform the future implementation of income management in Western Australia and in other parts of Australia.
Your views are an important source of evidence for the evaluation.  The survey questions aim to obtain your individual perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the VIM and CPSIM trials.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trials.

This survey is being conducted on a confidential and anonymous basis.  Your responses will only be seen by a small number of ORIMA Research staff.  You will not be identified in our evaluation report.  The report will mainly focus on the analysis of key themes and aggregated/ grouped results.  De-identified indicative quotes from the responses of individual respondents will also be presented in the report.

The survey questionnaire contains separate sections on the CPSIM trial and on the VIM trial.  Many of the questions in these sections are the same (except that they focus on CPSIM and VIM respectively).  To reduce the time required to complete the questionnaire, you have the option of having your answers to the CPSIM questions being taken as also being the answers to the corresponding VIM questions.  If you wish to take up this option, please indicate this in response to question 57 in the VIM section.  If you choose to take up the automatic completion option, you will still be able to provide a different response to any VIM question that you wish – where you provide a specific response to a VIM question, this will be taken to be your response (instead of your response to the corresponding CPSIM question).

The survey questionnaire should take around 30 minutes to complete.  The questionnaire does not have to be completed in one session.  You may save your responses to the online survey questionnaire at any time (click on the “Save” button on the bottom of the page that you are on), exit the online survey and return to complete the questionnaire at a later time (until the survey completion deadline).

Should you have any queries regarding the survey, please contact Janice Wong of ORIMA Research (Tel: 1800 65 45 85 or by email: janice.wong@orima.com ). 

Completing the Questionnaire
[Appropriate completion instructions will be displayed on the survey web pages]

Professional and Organisational Profile

1.	How many people (including yourself) does your organisation currently employ in Western Australia?	
	1    1-19 employees	2    20-99 employees	
	3    100-299 employees	4    300 employees or more	

2.	How many people (including yourself) are employed in the office/ workplace that you are based?	
	1    1-5 employees	2    6-10 employees	
	3    11-20 employees	4    21 employees or more	

3.	In which location are you based?	
	1  Perth	2   The Kimberley Region	3   Other 
[Please specify     ]
	
4.	Which of the following best describes the position you hold in your organisation? 	
	1    Financial counsellor/ adviser	2    Money management adviser	
	3    Case worker/ case manager	4    Team leader	
	5    Manager	6    Other [Please specify]     	

5.	Do you directly provide financial counselling or money management advisory services to clients?	
	1  Yes	2   No		

Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM)

This section seeks your individual view/ perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the CPSIM trial.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trial.

Implementation of the CPSIM Trial in Western Australia

The following questions address aspects of the implementation of the CPSIM trial.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know” option in response to the relevant question.

		Yes	No	
6.	Have you received adequate information about the nature of the CPSIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 9		

7.  What additional information do you require about the CPSIM trial?

	

	

	

8.  What is the best way of communicating such information to you?

	

	

	

		Yes	No	
9.	Have you been informed in a timely manner about the nature of the CPSIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 11		

10.  When and how were you informed about the CPSIM trial?

	

	

	

11.  How would you rate the level of awareness of the CPSIM measure among Centrelink customers in the areas where CPSIM has been trialled who receive payments that make them potentially eligible for CPSIM?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

12.  Overall, how would you rate the level of understanding of the CPSIM measure among people who have been placed on CPSIM (i.e. CPSIM participants)?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

13.  How could the process of informing CPSIM participants about CPSIM be improved?

	

14.  Are there any specific aspects of CPSIM that need to be better understood by CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 17]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to question 17]	

15.  What aspects of CPSIM need to be better understood by CPSIM participants?

	

	

	

16.  What is the best way of informing CPSIM participants about these aspects?

	

	

	

17.  Do you have any views about the efficiency or effectiveness of other operational aspects of the CPSIM trial (e.g. referral of participants to Centrelink by WA Department for Child Protection, the operation of the BasicsCard)?  If so, please outline your views below.

	

	

	

18.	How many clients have you had who have been subject to income management under the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) in Western Australia?	
	1    None      [Please go to “Overall Assessment
of the CPSIM Trial in WA” Section]	2    One	
	3    Two to Five	4    Six to ten	
	5    Eleven or more		

Impact of CPSIM on Financial Management Capability

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

19.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has participating in the WA CPSIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among CPSIM participants?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

20.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 22]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 22]	

21.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5  Other [Please specify     	

22.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 24]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 24]	

23.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants?

	

	

24.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial led to an increase or decrease in the incidence of people who have participated in the trial seeking emergency relief, emergency payments or other financial crisis support?
	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

25.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent have the following elements of the WA CPSIM trial contributed to improving financial management among people who have participated in the trial:

		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Compulsory income management of fortnightly payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Compulsory income management of lump sum payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Financial counselling and money management services?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

26.  If you provided negative ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in question 25, please explain why.

	

	

27.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM participants have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence		

28.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to CPSIM participants who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful	[Please go to question 30]	
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 30]	

29.  What have been the benefits of financial counselling and money management services to CPSIM participants who have used these services?

	

	

	

30. What factors have discouraged or prevented CPSIM participants from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

31. What is likely to encourage CPSIM participants to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

32.  In general, how have CPSIM participants responded to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Very negatively	
	2    Negatively	
	3    Neutral response	
	4    Positively	
	5    Very positively	

33.  Why do you think that CPSIM participants have responded in this way?

	

	

	

34.  What kinds of support have your CPSIM clients sought from your service?

	

	

	

35.  Do CPSIM clients look for a different range of financial counselling and money management services to other clients from similar demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to “Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing”]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to “Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing”]	

36.  Please explain the differences.

	

	

Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

37.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

38.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 40]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 40]	

39.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify.....................................................................]

40.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to “Other Impacts of CPSIM” Section]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to “Other Impacts of CPSIM” Section]	

41.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Other Impacts of CPSIM

The following questions address other impacts of CPSIM.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM participants or the communities in which they live to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

Note: Question 42 only applies to respondents who have worked in the delivery of services to CPSIM participants in the Kimberley region.

42.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the Kimberley region communities in which CPSIM participants live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Excessive drinking?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Excessive noise?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Problem gambling?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Drug misuse?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Violence?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Use of pornography?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

43.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the communities in which some CPSIM participants live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Cultural activities (e.g. hunting, fishing, sport)?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Inappropriate pressure being applied to family members to obtain money?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

If you indicated that there has been a change in the incidence of at least one of the behaviours covered in questions 42 and 43, please go to question 44.  If not, please go to question 45.

44.  What impact have these changes had on child wellbeing in these communities? [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

45.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on the family relationships/dynamics of CPSIM participants?

	1    Highly negative		
	2    Negative		
	3    Neutral/ no impact	[Please go to question 47]	
	4    Positive		
	5    Highly positive		
	6   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 47]	

46.  Please explain the impact of CPSIM on family relationships/dynamics. [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

47.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 49]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 49]	

48.  What other impacts has CPSIM had?

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of CPSIM

49.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

50.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

51.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

52.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in Western Australia

53.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

54.  Has the effectiveness of the CPSIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which CPSIM is available)?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 56]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 56]	

55.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of CPSIM.

	

	

	

56.  How could CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

Voluntary Income Management (VIM)

This section seeks your individual view/ perspective/ opinion on a range of matters related to the VIM trial.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trial.

The set of questions in this section concerning the WA VIM trial largely mirrors the set of questions contained in the previous section of the questionnaire relating to the CPSIM trial.  If you select ‘Yes’ to question 57 below, your answers to the CPSIM questions will be taken to apply to the equivalent VIM questions, except in cases where you provide specific answers to the VIM questions.  Please note that there are also some unique VIM questions that have not been asked in relation to CPSIM – these are highlighted by the inclusion of the text [VIM ONLY] after each question.  Please answer these unique VIM questions.

		Yes	No	
57.	Would you like your answers to the CPSIM questions to be taken as being your answers to equivalent VIM questions with the exception of cases where you provide a specific response to a VIM question?	1	2	

Implementation of the VIM Trial in Western Australia

The following questions address aspects of the implementation of the VIM trial.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know” option in response to the relevant question.

		Yes	No	
58.	Have you received adequate information about the nature of the VIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 61		

59.  What additional information do you require about the VIM trial?

	

	

	

60.  What is the best way of communicating such information to you?

	

	

	

		Yes	No	
61.	Have you been informed in a timely manner about the nature of the VIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 63		

62.  When and how were you informed about the VIM trial?

	

	

	

63.  How would you rate the level of awareness of the VIM measure among Centrelink customers in the areas where VIM has been trialled who receive payments that make them potentially eligible for VIM?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

64.  Overall, how well has the availability of VIM been communicated to potential participants in the trial areas?  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Very poorly	
	2    Poorly	
	3    Moderately	
	4    Well	
	5    Very well	
	6    Don’t know	

65.  How could awareness-raising communication aimed at potential VIM participants be improved? [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

66.  Overall, how would you rate the level of understanding of the VIM measure among VIM participants?

	1    Very low	
	2    Low	
	3    Moderate	
	4    High	
	5    Very high	
	6    Don’t know	

67.  How could the process of informing VIM participants about VIM be improved?

	

	

	

68.  Are there any specific aspects of VIM that need to be better understood by VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 71]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to question 71]	

69.  What aspects of VIM need to be better understood by VIM participants?

	

	

	

70.  What is the best way of informing VIM participants about these aspects?

	

	

	

71.  What factors motivate people to take up VIM? [Please select as many options as apply]  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Interest in improving money management	
	2    Positive community sentiment/ word-of-mouth reports	
	3    Information delivered by Centrelink	
	4    Desire to obtain a BasicsCard	
	5    Desire to avoid inappropriate pressure from family members to obtain money	
	6     Other [Please specify............................................]	

72.  What factors discourage/ prevent people from taking up VIM? [Please select as many options as apply]  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Lack of awareness about the program	
	2    Negative community sentiment/ word-of-mouth reports	
	3    Negative media reports	
	4    Unwillingness to take up the program prior to receiving lump sum payments	
	5     Other [Please specify............................................]	

73.  What are the main factors that lead to people withdrawing from VIM? [Please select as many options as apply]  [VIM ONLY]

	1    Preference for using cash to meet living expenses	
	2    Need to access funds when travelling	
	3    Greater than expected initial impact of the reduction in discretionary funds	
	4    Pressure from family members	
	5     Other [Please specify     ]	

74.  Do you have any views about the efficiency or effectiveness of other operational aspects of the VIM trial (e.g. operation of the BasicsCard)?  If so, please outline your views below.

	

	

	

75.	How many clients have you had who have been subject to income management under the Voluntary Income Management (VIM) trial in Western Australia?	
	1    None      [Please go to “Overall Assessment
of the VIM Trial in WA” Section]	2    One	
	3    Two to Five	4    Six to ten	
	5    Eleven or more		

Impact of VIM on Financial Management Capability

The following questions address the impact of VIM on the financial management capability of VIM participants.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

76.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has participating in the WA VIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among VIM participants?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

77.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 79]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 79]	

78.  What positive impacts has VIM had on the financial management capability of VIM participants? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5  Other [Please specify     ]	

79.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 81]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 81]	

80.  What negative impacts has VIM had on the financial management capability of VIM participants?

	

	

	

81.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent has the WA VIM trial led to an increase or decrease in the incidence of people who have participated in the trial seeking emergency relief, emergency payments or other financial crisis support?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

82.  Overall, based on your experience, to what extent have the following elements of the WA VIM trial contributed to improving financial management among people who have participated in the trial:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Income management of fortnightly payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Income management of lump sum payments from Centrelink?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Financial counselling and money management services?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

83.  If you provided negative ratings in relation to any of the aspects covered in question 82, please explain why.

	

	

84.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM participants have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence		

85.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to VIM participants who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful	[Please go to question 87]	
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 87]	

86.  What have been the benefits of financial counselling and money management services to VIM participants who have used these services?

	

	

	

87. What factors have discouraged or prevented VIM participants from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

88. What is likely to encourage VIM participants to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

89.  In general, how have VIM participants responded to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Very negatively	
	2    Negatively	
	3    Neutral response	
	4    Positively	
	5    Very positively	

90.  Why do you think that VIM participants have responded in this way?

	

	

	

91.  What kinds of support have your VIM clients sought from your service?

	

	

	

92.  Do VIM clients look for a different range of financial counselling and money management services to other clients from similar demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to “Impact of VIM on Child Wellbeing”]	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to “Impact of VIM on Child Wellbeing”]	

93.  Please explain the differences.

	

	

Impact of VIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of VIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

94.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA VIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

95.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 97]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 97]	

96.  What positive impacts has VIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify     ]	

97.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to “Other Impacts of VIM” Section]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to “Other Impacts of VIM” Section]	

98.  What negative impacts has VIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Other Impacts of VIM

The following questions address other impacts of VIM.  We are interested in your views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with VIM participants or the communities in which they live to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

Note: Question 99 only applies to respondents who have worked in the delivery of services to VIM participants in the Kimberley region.

99.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the Kimberley region communities in which VIM participants live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Excessive drinking?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Excessive noise?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	Problem gambling?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
d.	Drug misuse?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
e.	Violence?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
f.	Use of pornography?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

100.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on the incidence of the following behaviours in the communities in which some VIM participants live:
		Large Decrease	Decrease	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Increase	Large
Increase	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Cultural activities (e.g. hunting, fishing, sport)?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Inappropriate pressure being applied to family members to obtain money?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

If you indicated that there has been a change in the incidence of at least one of the behaviours covered in questions 99 and 100, please go to question 101.  If not, please go to Question 102.

101.  What impact have these changes had on child wellbeing in these communities? [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

102.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on the family relationships/dynamics of people who have participated in the trial?

	1    Highly negative		
	2    Negative		
	3    Neutral/ no impact	[Please go to question 104]	
	4    Positive		
	5    Highly positive		
	6   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 104]	

103.  Please explain the impact of VIM on family relationships/dynamics.  [Please be as specific in your description of the impact as possible]

	

	

	

104.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 106]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 106]	

105.  What other impacts has VIM had?

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of VIM

106.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of VIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

107.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

108.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of VIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

109.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the VIM Trial in Western Australia

110.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

111.  Has the effectiveness of the VIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which VIM is available)?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 113]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 113]	

112.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of VIM.

	

113.  Has the effectiveness of the VIM trial in WA been affected by the recent reduction of the managed percentage of income from 70% to 50%? [VIM Only]

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 115]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 115]	
114.  Please briefly explain the impact of this change on the effectiveness of VIM? [VIM Only]

	

	

115.  How could VIM be improved?

	

	

	

Conclusion

116.  Are clients of your financial counselling or money management services who are subject to income management under CPSIM or VIM given priority over other clients in service delivery?

	1    Yes		
	2    No 	[Please go to question 118] 	
	3    Don’t know	[Please go to question 118]	

117.  Please explain how your organisation gives income managed clients priority.

	

	

	

118.  If you have any other comments about the CPSIM and VIM trials in Western Australia, or about the evaluation, please provide them below.

	

	

	

	

	

To assist in the interpretation of the survey results, ORIMA Research may wish to contact you to clarify or obtain additional information relating to your response to this questionnaire.

If you would be prepared to participate in such a follow-up discussion, please provide your contact details below:

Name:

Telephone Number:

ORIMA Research
Survey of Peak Welfare Sector Bodies
and Community Organisations
Evaluation of CPSIM and VIM Trials in WA

Introduction
ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and Voluntary Income Management (VIM) trials in Western Australia.  The terms of reference of the evaluation are to assess:
•	The impact of income management on child wellbeing;
•	The impact of income management on the financial capability of individuals; and
•	The efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the trials.
As part of the evaluation, through this survey, we are seeking the views of Western Australian peak welfare sector bodies and community organisations that have an interest in income management.  ORIMA Research is also collecting information for the evaluation through research with people who have participated in the VIM and CPSIM trials, a comparison group of Centrelink customers not on income management, Centrelink case workers, WA Department for Child Protection case workers, service providers, and community leaders.
This is an important evaluation.  The findings of the evaluation will be used by FaHCSIA to inform the future implementation of income management in Western Australia and in other parts of Australia.
The views of your organisation are an important source of evidence for the evaluation.  The aim of the survey is to obtain the views of your organisation as a whole.  Please answer the questions from an organisation-wide perspective.  For some questions, this may require you to consult with other people within your organisation.

This survey is not being conducted on an anonymous basis.  In our evaluation report we will identify the organisations that took part in the survey.  While the report will mainly focus on the analysis of key themes and aggregated/ grouped results, indicative quotes from the responses of individual organisations will also be presented.

The survey questionnaire should take around 30 minutes to complete.
Should you have any queries regarding the survey, please contact Natalie Arkle of ORIMA Research (Tel: (02) 9929 6000 or by email: natalie.arkle@orima.com). 

Completing the questionnaire

Appropriate completion instructions to be inserted in online questionnaire.

About You, Your Organisation and its Interest in Income Management

1.	Which of the following best describes the position you hold in your organisation? 	
	1    Senior Executive	2    Director/ Board Member	
	3    Manager	4    Researcher	
	5    Administrative Officer	6    Other [Please specify]     	

2.	How many people (including yourself) does your organisation currently employ in Western Australia?	
	1    1-19 employees	2    20-99 employees	
	3    100-299 employees	4    300 employees or more	

3.	How long has your organisation had an interest in the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and/or the Voluntary Income Management (VIM) trials in Western Australia?	
	1  Less than 6 months	2   Between 6 and 11 months	3   Between 1 and 3 years	
	4 Other [Please specify.........]			

4.	Which of the following types of dealings has your organisation had with the income management trials in Western Australia? 
(Please select all that apply)	
	1   Providing financial management/ counselling services to people participating in the trials
	2   Making general representations to government about the trials
	3   Making specific representations to Centrelink or the WA Department for Child Protection on behalf of clients/ people participating in the trials	
	4   Obtaining information on the income management trials from Centrelink
	5   Obtaining information on the
income management trials from the WA Department for Child Protection
	6   Disseminating information on the trials within your organisation
	
	7   Providing advice about the trials to clients/ people participating in income management	8   Other [Please specify]     	     	
	     	

Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM)

Impact of CPSIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your organisation’s views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM participants to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

5.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

6.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 8]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 8]	

7.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify     ]	

8.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to “Impact of CPSIM on Financial Management Capability” Section]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to “Impact of CPSIM on Financial Management Capability” Section]	

9.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Impact of CPSIM on Financial Management Capability

The following questions address the impact of CPSIM on the financial management capability of CPSIM customers.  We are interested in your organisation’s views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with CPSIM participants to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

10.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA CPSIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among CPSIM participants?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

11.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 13]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 13]	

12.  What positive impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of participants? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5  Other [Please specify     ]	

13.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of CPSIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 15]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 15]	

14.  What negative impacts has CPSIM had on the financial management capability of participants?

	

15.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM participants have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence		

16.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to CPSIM participants who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful		
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ not enough evidence		

17. What factors have discouraged or prevented CPSIM participants from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

	

18. What is likely to encourage CPSIM participants to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

	

Other Impacts of CPSIM

19.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that CPSIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 21]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 21]	

20.  What other impacts has CPSIM had?

	

	

	

Implementation of the CPSIM Trial in Western Australia

		Yes	No	
21.	Has your organisation received adequate information from government agencies about the nature of the CPSIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 24		

22.  What additional information do you require about the CPSIM trial?

	

	

	

23.  What is the best way of communicating such information to your organisation?

	

	

	

		Yes	No	
24.	Has your organisation been informed in a timely manner by government agencies about the nature of the CPSIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 26		

25.  When and how was your organisation informed about the CPSIM trial?

	

	

	

26.  Does your organisation have any views about the efficiency or effectiveness of the operational aspects of the CPSIM trial (e.g. referral of participants to Centrelink by WA Department for Child Protection, the operation of the BasicsCard)?  If so, please outline your views below.

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of CPSIM

27.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

28.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

29.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of CPSIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

30.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the CPSIM Trial in Western Australia

31.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA CPSIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

32.  Has the effectiveness of the CPSIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which CPSIM is available)?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 34]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 34]	

33.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of CPSIM.

	

	

	

34.  How could CPSIM be improved?

	

	

	

Voluntary Income Management (VIM)

This section seeks your organisation’s views/ perspectives/ opinions on a range of matters related to the VIM trial.  The questions do not require you to provide information or data on the actual outcomes or impacts of the trial.

The questions in this section largely mirror the set of questions contained in the previous section of the questionnaire relating to the CPSIM trial.  If you select ‘Yes’ to question 35 below, your answers to the CPSIM questions will be taken to apply to the equivalent VIM questions, except in cases where you provide specific answers to the VIM questions.  

Please note that there are also two unique VIM questions (questions 65 and 66) that have not been asked in relation to CPSIM – these are highlighted by the inclusion of the text [VIM ONLY] after each question.  Please answer these unique VIM questions.

		Yes	No	
35.	Would you like your answers to the CPSIM questions to be taken as being your answers to equivalent VIM questions with the exception of cases where you provide a specific response to a VIM question?	1	2	

Impact of VIM on Child Wellbeing

The following questions address the impact of VIM on child wellbeing.  We are interested in your organisation’s views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with VIM participants to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

36.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA VIM trial resulted in a change in the share/ proportion of participant families’ spending/ budget that is directed to meeting the needs of dependent children?

	1    Large decrease	
	2    Moderate decrease	
	3    Small decrease	
	4    No change	
	5    Small increase	
	6    Moderate increase	
	7    Large increase	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

37.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any positive impacts on the wellbeing of children of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 39]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 39]	

38.  What positive impacts has VIM had on the wellbeing of these children? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increase in the amount of food eaten	
	2    Increase in the quality/ nutritional value of food eaten	
	3    Increase in the quality/ adequacy of clothing	
	4    Improvement in school attendance	
	5    Greater access to items/ equipment needed for school	
	6    Better educational outcomes (e.g. test results, progression through school)	
	7    Greater usage of health services (visits to doctors, dentists etc.)	
	8   Improvement in physical health	
	9   Better housing conditions (e.g. stability, quality of accommodation, adequacy of appliances)	
	10   Greater safety	
	11   Greater participation in social and recreational activities	
	12   Improvement in emotional wellbeing	
	13   Other [Please specify     ]	

39.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any negative impacts on the wellbeing of children of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to “Impact of VIM on Financial Management Capability” Section]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to “Impact of VIM on Financial Management Capability” Section]	

40.  What negative impacts has VIM had on the wellbeing of these children?

	

	

	

Impact of VIM on Financial Management Capability

The following questions address the impact of VIM on the financial management capability of VIM participants.  We are interested in your organisation’s views/ perspectives/ opinions.  We recognise that some survey respondents may not be in a position or not have had enough contact with VIM participants to provide an informed answer to some of the questions below.  If you find that this is the case, please select the “Don’t Know”/ “Not Enough Evidence” option in response to the relevant question.

41.  Overall, in your opinion, to what extent has the WA VIM trial led to an improvement or deterioration in financial management among VIM participants?

	1    Large deterioration	
	2    Moderate deterioration	
	3    Small deterioration	
	4    No change	
	5    Small improvement	
	6    Moderate improvement	
	7    Large improvement	
	8   Don’t know/ not enough evidence	

42.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any positive impacts on the financial management capability of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 44]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 44]	

43.  What positive impacts has VIM had on the financial management capability of participants? [Please select as many options as apply]

	1    Increased ability to pay rent and bills on time	
	2    Increased ability to spread spending across the fortnight to meet basic needs	
	3    Increased ability to purchase ‘big ticket’ items (e.g. white goods, televisions, holidays)	
	4   Increased ability to deal with unexpected expenses (e.g. medical expenses)	
	5  Other [Please specify     ]	

44.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any negative impacts on the financial management capability of VIM participants?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 46]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 46]	

45.  What negative impacts has VIM had on the financial management capability of participants?

	

	

	

46.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM participants have received timely access to financial counselling and money management services?

	1    Yes		
	2    No		
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence		

47.  Overall, in your opinion, how useful have financial counselling and money management services been to VIM participants who have used these services?

	1    Not at all useful		
	2    Of limited use		
	3    Moderately useful		
	4    Highly useful		
	5   Don’t know/ not enough evidence		

48. What factors have discouraged or prevented VIM participants from taking up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

	

49. What is likely to encourage VIM participants to take up financial counselling and money management services?

	

	

Other Impacts of VIM

50.  On the basis of your experience, do you believe that VIM has had any other (positive or negative) impacts on participants, their children, their families or their communities?

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 52]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 52]	

51.  What other impacts has VIM had?

	

	

	

Implementation of the VIM Trial in Western Australia

		Yes	No	
52.	Has your organisation received adequate information from government agencies about the nature of the VIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 55		

53.  What additional information do you require about the VIM trial?

	

	

54.  What is the best way of communicating such information to your organisation?

	

	

		Yes	No	
55.	Has your organisation been informed in a timely manner by government agencies about the nature of the VIM trial in WA?	1	2	

	If Yes, please go to question 57		

56.  When and how was your organisation informed about the VIM trial?

	

	

57.  Does your organisation have any views about the efficiency or effectiveness of the operational aspects of the VIM trial (e.g. the operation of the BasicsCard)?  If so, please outline your views below.

	

	

	

Longer Term Impacts of VIM

58.  Based on your experience, what positive outcomes of VIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

59.  Based on your experience, what could be done to maximise the likelihood and value of longer term positive outcomes?

	

	

	

60.  Based on your experience, what negative outcomes of VIM are yet to emerge, but are likely to do so in the future?

	

	

	

61.  Based on your experience, what could be done to minimise the likelihood and cost of longer term negative outcomes?

	

	

	

Overall Assessment of the VIM Trial in Western Australia

62.  Overall, how would you assess the impact of the WA VIM trial on:
		Highly Negative	Negative	Neutral/ No Material Impact	Positive	Highly
Positive	Don’t Know/ Not Enough Evidence	
a.	Child wellbeing?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
b.	Family wellbeing and relationships?	1	2	3	4	5	6	
c.	The capacity of families and communities to care for children?	1	2	3	4	5	6	

63.  Has the effectiveness of the VIM trial in WA been affected by any developments external to the scheme that have occurred during its implementation (e.g. the establishment of a new financial counselling service in one of the areas in which VIM is available)? 

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 65]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 65]	

64.  Please briefly explain these developments and their impact on the effectiveness of VIM.

	

	

	

65.  Has the effectiveness of the VIM trial in WA been affected by the recent reduction of the managed percentage of income from 70% to 50%? [VIM ONLY]

	1    Yes		
	2    No	[Please go to question 67]	
	3    Don’t know/ not enough evidence	[Please go to question 67]	

66.  Please briefly explain the impact of this change on the effectiveness of VIM. [VIM ONLY]

	

	

	

67.  How could VIM be improved?

	

	

	

Conclusion

68.  If you have any other comments about the CPSIM and VIM trials in Western Australia, or about the evaluation, please provide them below.

	

	

	

	

	

To assist in the interpretation of the survey results, ORIMA Research may wish to contact you to clarify or obtain additional information relating to your response to this questionnaire.

If you would be prepared to participate in such a follow-up discussion, please provide your contact details below:

Name:

Position:

Organisation:

Telephone Number: